People's Life First (国民の生活が第一, Kokumin no Seikatsu ga Daiichi, literally "The citizens' livlihood is paramount") is a political party in Japan. It has 37 out of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives, and 12 in the 242-member House of Councillors.[1]
People's Life First | |
|---|---|
| People's Life First Logo | |
| President | Ichirō Ozawa |
| Secretary-General | Shōzō Azuma |
| Councilors leader | Tadashi Hirono |
| Representatives leader | Sadatoshi Kumagai |
| Gegründet | 11 July 2012 |
| Ideology | Pragmatism Localism |
| Political position | Centre |
| Colors | green |
| Councillors | 12 / 242
|
| Representatives | 37 / 480
|
| Website | |
| http://www.seikatsu1.jp | |
Foundation
The party was founded by Ichiro Ozawa and 48 other diet members who were in the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) after the DPJ government of Yoshihiko Noda voted to increase the consumption tax from 5% to 10%. The inaugural meeting was held at the parliamentary museum on 11 July 2012.[2] The diet members included 37 lower house members and 12 upper house members.[3] As of 10 July 2012, this made the party the third largest in the lower house behind the DPJ and the Liberal Democratic Party,[4] and the fourth largest bloc in the upper house behind the DPJ, LDP, and New Komeito.[5]
Goals
The party opposes the increase in the consumption tax[6] and plans to reduce nuclear energy to zero.[2] Nevertheless many see the party's, especially Ozawa's, opposition to the increase in consumption tax and plans to maintain nuclear energy usage as part of his "anti-DPJ" leader politics.
Plans for alliances
Ozawa told his aides: "It'll be all right if we do it like the Olive Tree Coalition." Possible coalition partners would be the Osaka Restoration Association of Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto, New Party Daichi – True Democrats, the Genzei Nippon party of Takashi Kawamura, the Aichi is Top of Japan party of Hideaki Ōmura and a possible party to be founded by Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara.[7] He may also seek an alliance with the Social Democratic Party.[8]
On 9 July 2012, governor Takuya Tasso of Iwate Prefecture, historical home to the Ozawa family and the district that Ozawa represents, announced that he would cut ties with the DPJ and join the new party.[9]
Motions against Yoshihiko Noda
On August 3 2012 People's Life First in concert with six other minor opposition parties (The Kizuna Party, Japanese Communist Party, Social Democratic Party, Your Party, New Party Nippon (which has no lower-house lawmaker) and the New Renaissance Party) agreed to submit a no confidence motion against Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in an effort to block the passage of the bill raising Japan's consumption tax from 5% to 10%. In the Japanese diet the support of 51 lawmakers is required to submit a co-confidence motion to the lower house.[10] The motion was submitted to the House of Representatives on August 7, along with a censure motion against Noda in the House of Councillors. The main opposition Liberal Democratic Party was also considering its own no-confidence motion and censure motions if Noda did not agree to call a general election.[11] The no-confidence motion was voted down 246 to 86, with the DPJ voting against and the LDP and its partner New Komeito deciding to be absent from the vote after Noda agreed to hold elections "soon".[12]
On August 29, 2012 the House of Councillors passed a censure motion against Noda based on the one previously submitted by the seven opposition parties. The LDP and New Komeito had also been preparing their own censure motion but in the end the LDP, which had supported Noda's consumption tax increase, supported the censure motion of the other seven parties, while New Komeito abstained.[13] While the censure motion was non-binding, the opposition parties planned to boycott the remaining sitting days before the diet session finished on September 8, preventing further legislation from being passed.[14]
Presidents of People's Life First
- Ichirō Ozawa (11 July 2012 –)
References
- ^ 国民の生活が第一は「People's Life First」 英語名決まる (Sankei Shimbun)
- ^ a b "Ozawa, DPJ rebels create new party". Daily Yomiuri Online. Japan: The Yomiuri Shimbun. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "Uncertainty reigns after passage of reform bills". Daily Yomiuri Online. Japan: The Yomiuri Shimbun. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "会派名及び会派別所属議員数" (in Japanese). Japan: The House of Representatives. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "会派別所属議員数一覧" (in Japanese). Japan: House of Councillors. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ Yamaguchi, Mari (11 July 2012). "Breakaway Leader Forms Party to Rival Japanese PM". Tokyo: ABC News. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "Ozawa has hard road ahead / Plan for 'Olive Tree' coalition may be unworkable, observers say". Daily Yomiuri Online. Japan: The Yomiuri Shimbun. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ Ito, Masami (12 July 2012). "Ozawa creates new party to counter Noda". The Japan Times. Japan: The Japan Times Limited. p. 1. ISSN 0289-1956.
- ^ "Iwate governor to part with DPJ and join Ozawa's planned party". The Japan Times. Japan: The Japan Times Limited. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ The Daily Yomiuri Parties band together against Noda August 4 2012 Retrieved on August 13 2012
- ^ The Daily Yomiuri 6 parties hit Noda with no-confidence motion August 8 2012 Retrieved on August 13 2012
- ^ The Daily Yomiuri Reform bills set to pass Diet today / No-confidence motion easily voted down August 10 2012 Retrieved on August 13 2012
- ^ The Daily Yomiuri Upper house OK's censure against Noda August 30, 2012 Retrieved on September 1, 2012
- ^ The Japan Times Censure motion against Noda OK'd August 30, 2012 Retrieved on September 1, 2012